Ravenpaw's Mountain
by MiraClarinet
Summary: Ravenpaw found a mate, then lost her just as graystripe lost Silverstream. now, he is alone at the barn and the only one to care for his kits. As an onimous prophecy surrounds him, what will become of the small family? Bad summary. Rated T for safety...
1. After They Left

_**I do not own warriors. Erin hunter does.**_

"_I'm sorry, Ravenpaw, but Cody is dead." _

Barley's words rang in Ravenpaw's ears as he stared at the three kits. It had been about five moons since they were born, their mother dying during birth. They were his kits. He wished he could still feel her fur, her soft voice ringing as she spoke of Leafpaw, the young medicine cat apprentice she had befriended while stuck in the twoleg prison, as she had always called it. Ravenpaw wondered where Leafpaw and her family were, how they were. After all, her father was his best friend. Firestar had taken him here as an apprentice, to escape his mentor's evil attempts to kill him for knowing too much, that he had killed ThunderClan's deputy. Ravenpaw could never thank Firestar enough for it. He could never thank Barley enough for allowing him to stay.

Now, everything he had known was gone. Cody was dead, Barley had grown old and died. The Clans had left for a new home when twolegs destroyed the forest.

"If only they knew. If only they knew it would stop, only go a short distance into the territories. I wish someone could have seen it before it was too late." He sighed to himself. A pale ginger she-cat with a white paw and tail-tip stared up at her father, her blue eyes dancing as her mother's once did.

"What do you mean Papa?" She asked. Her voice was soft.

"Nothing, Leafkit." Ravenpaw sighed. The kit didn't seem to buy it, but she shrugged and pounced on her sister, a pure black she-cat with a single white paw. She hissed and through her off, beginning a play fight that grew into a play battle as the third she-cat joined in. She was identical to her father with the same frost blue eyes as her sister.

"Jaykit, we never said you could play!" Leafkit hissed, pinning her down.

"But-" The other black kit hissed and Jaykit jumped into a pile of hay, where she curled up and sadly watched the play fight.

"Ravenpaw, are you in there?" The familiar voice was a welcome one. Ravenpaw mewed a greeting and the familiar she-cat walked in. She looked a lot like her brother, the ThunderClan leader who had taken the Clans wherever they had gone. Ravenpaw greeted her by touching her nose gently as she entered.

"How are you?" He asked.

"I am fine, but I'm afraid my twolegs are moving. I-I either go with them, or never go back to them. They are moving far away, to some old cabin by a lake." She mewed regretfully. Ravenpaw understood. He was about to loose another mate. His last one had died, but this one was abandoning him, just like that!

"Oh. Then I guess it is goodbye." He mewed sadly, stalking up to a bale of hay near Jaykit and preparing to leap up. Jaykit watched on in silence, confused at what was going on. Princess looked taken aback.

"What made you think I was going with them? Did you really think I would just leave you all alone?" Ravenpaw paused and stared back at her, his ears perked.

"Your staying?" He asked disbelievingly. Princess nodded.

"If you will let me. Not only do I want to stay with you, but these kits need someone around here to look after them when you can't." She mewed. Ravenpaw nodded with a sigh. Even with Princess around, they would be a handful. When Barley was alive, they had still barely kept up with the kits. It would take more then just two cats. This was one of the times Ravenpaw wished he was back in ThunderClan, where each queen would share the duty of watching kits.

Ravenpaw curled up next to the familiar figure of Princess and the kits. The barn seemed dark and mysterious; unsafe, yet he knew it was safe. He let his eyes close, forbidding the darkness and loneliness to flow over him. It wasn't long before he was asleep.

_Ravenpaw awoke at the bank of a shining pool. Starlight seemed to linger on its still surface. It remained motionless, clearly reflecting his figure, even though a rough breeze tugged threateningly at his pelt. He winced as he slid, his barn-soft pads cracking against the smooth rocks. He stared back into the pool. Another shape joined his, a familiar blue-gray cat he would never forget. He turned to see her watching from a distance. He gazed back into the pool, but her face had gone from the depths._

"_B-Bluestar?" He stammered. The she-cat purred in amusement._

"_Of course, Ravenpaw. I have brought a message for you. _Stars have gathered above a lonely place, were a single Clan searches for those who were once there. One must become two, or all eight Clans will be destroyed._" She whispered, so low Ravenpaw had to perk his ears to listen._

"_What do you mean?" He asked. There were five clans; ThunderClan, WindClan, RiverClan, ShadowClan and StarClan. Who on Earth could be the sixth and seventh Clans? _

_But Bluestar never answered._


	2. Early Leafbare

Ravenpaw watched the kits play in the fresh snow. Nobody had expected the sudden snowfall, despite the dark storm clouds that had covered the stars in the sky the night before.

"I'm hungry!" Leafkit complained, pausing from the kits' game of chase the moss. As usual, Jaykit had been excluded from the game. She tended to be a bit out of control, and sometimes unsheathed her claws without noticing. She could really hurt one of her sisters if she wasn't careful in play, despite her small size. Pebblekit had scars from just a moon ago, when Jaykit had gotten carried away and gotten into a tooth and claw battle with her sister.

"I can catch something in the barn." Jaykit mewed, jumping down from her favorite rock, where she would sun herself while her sisters played.

"Alright, let's see what you can do." Ravenpaw mewed, leading his smallest daughter into the barn. He ould hear mews and laughter as Pebblekit and Leafkit continued their game.

"I see one!" Jaykit breathed. She set into a hunters crouch as her father had done many times before and crept forward. For not having any formal training, she was doing quite well. That was, until she leaped too early, and ended up in a pile of hay.

"You were doing good until that last part. Next time, jump earlier. You waited to long and made too much noise." Ravenpaw instructed. Jaykit nodded and tried again. This time, she landed on top of it, but it managed to get away.

"The one time I forget my claws!" She hissed in annoyance. Ravenpaw purred in amusement. She tried a third time, finally getting her prey and killing it swiftly. Ravenpaw caught two more, used to the easy hunting conditions.

"Good catch Jaykit. For your age, I'd say three times is one of the best I have seen." He mewed through his two mice. Jaykit puffed out her chest.

"I'll share it with Pebblekit and Leafkit!" She meowed excitedly as if she wouldn't let the mouse touch the ground.

"Take this one too. I'll share with Princess." He handed her another mouse before she bounded out the barn entrance. He followed more slowly, purring as she gloated on her catch.

"Lucky! I want to learn to hunt!" Leafkit mewled as she took a bite of Jaykit's fresh kill. Jaykit puffed out her chest again. Ravenpaw dropped the remaining mouse at Princess's feet.

"Hungry?" He asked her. She nodded, keeping her eyes locked with his.

"Is something wrong? You have seemed distance since I got here." Her voice held deep concern, and her eyes were soft and caring. Ravenpaw sighed, but shook his head. She didn't need to know the prophecy, not yet.

??? POV:

It was difficult to move through the snow, but they had to keep going. The prophecies from StarClan couldn't be ignored.

"I just wish we didn't have to leave." A brown tom perked his ears, confusion dotting his face. He was young, no older then eight moons, and he had white paws and belly, with a white tail-tip.

"What was that Cherrytail?" He asked. Cherrytail shook her head.

"Not know, Mudpaw." She mewed. They had long left the twolegplace, and were now at a river. She could see lights dancing in the distance, and a shadow that looked like a barn just ahead. It was growing dark; they might be able to make it to the barn before moonhigh, or sleep in the forest.

"Looks like rain." Sharpstar mewed. Cherrytail nodded. He had become leader when Leafstar died, loosing all her remaining lives when the rats returned. He had chosen Cherrytail, one of the first to recreate SkyClan, as his deputy.

"Do you think we should try to reach that barn in the distance?" She asked. Sharpstar nodded.

"That might be a good idea. If it rains or snows tonight, the forest won't hold much shelter." He agreed. He picked up the pace. Mewls of protest sounded from the kits, but were silenced by their mothers, who picked them up gently.

The barn loomed just ahead. A slight, freezing drizzle had begun, soaking the cats to their skin. Most hung their heads, while others limped on frozen paws. The snow was wet and slippery. Cherrytail's paws threatened to slip at every pawstep.

"We are here." Sharpstar breathed in exhaution. The cats around mewed in excitement as the deputy and leader led the way in. As soon as she stepped foot inside, Cherrytail felt strange. She felt like a trespasser, moving into marked territory that wasn't hers. She glanced around. It was too dark to see anything. Just faintly, she could hear what sounded like kits snoring.

"Are the kits sleeping?" She asked the queens quietly. Tiny glowing eyes replied to her, showing they were indeed awake. Even though she had tried to be quiet, two pairs of glowing, angry eyes stared at them from across the barn. One pair rose and moved closer, until Cherrytail could make out the faint outline of a tom, his fur black and well blended in the darkness. His eyes were narrowed and claws glinted at every pawstep.

"Who are you?"


End file.
